Hypodermic needle



v 1 Ju g.

T. H. GEWECKE.

HYPODERMIC NEEDLE Dec. 2, 1958 Filed May 6, 1955 I THEODORE HGEWECKE INTNTOR.

ATTORNEY United States Patent Qffice 2,862,495 Patented Dec. 2, 1958HYPODERMIC 'NEEDLE '4 Theodore Gewe cke, Glenview, 111., assignor toBaxter Laboratories, Inc.

This invention relates to a hypodermic needle and, more particularly, toa hypodermic needle incorporating an improved structural arrangementwhereby the need for orienting the sharpened end'is eliminated.

Although many forms of hypodermic needles have been used in the past,the most popular form has consisted of a tube of stainless steelprovided with a sharpened-end achieved by a bevel cut. Although thebevel may be at a substantial angle, there is presented an ellipticalopening which, upon skin puncture, may cause undesirable coring. Coringis deemed undesirable not only because of the increased pain, which isnecessarily attendant on any skin puncture, but also because the coredportion might find its way into the blood stream which might result inan embolism. Furthermore, the puncture made by the conventional needlegenerally results in a scar which takes some time to disappear.

A real drawback in the conventional bevel-ended needle is the need fororienting the inserted end with respect to the vein wall. If care is notexercised, the beveled edge will lie against the vein wall,substantially retarding flow of liquid through the needle. To overcomethis, many needle manufacturers provide some mark on the needle hub toindicate the plane of the beveled end. Notwithstanding such marking,often needles are inserted improperly or otherwise assume a positionwhere the flow is retarded, necessitating the painful operation oforienting the needle.

It is, therefore, an object of my invention to provide a needleovercoming the above-mentioned disadvantages, especially in eliminatingthe need for orienting the needle. Another object is to provide a needlecapable of achieving a substantially non-coring skin puncture. Anotherobject is to provide a novel hypodermic needle structure wherein thefluid flow to and from the needle is achieved through at least twoopenings in the side wall thereof. Other objects and advantages of myinvention will be seen as this specification proceeds.

Essentially, my invention includes a rigid tubular needle having aclosed pointed end, the point thereof lying in the axis of the needleand being the end portion of an integral tapered section of the needle.To communicate the bore of the needle with the exterior, I provide atleast two openings in this taperedportion.

My invention will be explained in conjunction with the accompanyingdrawing, in which Fig. 1 represents an elevational view of thehypodermic needle of my invention; Fig. 2 is a perspective view of theneedle of my invention in its first stage of manufacture whereinopenings are provided in the sidewall of a tube; Fig. 3 represents anelevational view of the hypodermic needle of my invention in the swagingstage of its manufacture, the completed needle being shown in dottedlines; Fig. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line 4-4 of Fig.1; and Fig. 5 is an elevational view partially in section of thehypodermic needle of my invention shown inserted into a vein.

Referring now to the drawing and, in particular, to Fig.

1, the numeral 10 generally designates the hypodermic needle of myinvention. Needle 10 includes three integral elements: a straighttubular portion 11 which has a substantially uniform cross-section, aconical or tapered portion 12 at one end of straight portion 11, and ahub 13 atfixed to the other end ofstraight portion 11. It is notessential that hub 13 be provided, since it is possible to connectneedles to flexible tubing without such a hub.- However, a hub isgenerally provided to facilitate insertion of an adapter 14, as can beappreciated from a consideration of Fig. 3, 1

I provide at least two openings 15 in tapered portion 12, whichcommunicate with the bore ofstraight tubular portion 11. A method forproviding this structure can be appreciated from a consideration ofFigs. 2 and 3, wherein the needle is shown before the openings andsharpened point are provided. To achieve openings 15 I merely grind, asby use of grinding wheel 15a, or cut out portions of the side wall ofmember 11, adjacent the end thereof opposite the end provided with hub13, as shown in Fig. 2. I consider it desirable to provide openings 15as close as possible to the end of straight portion 11 so as to permituse of the needle in small veins. Once member 11 is achieved in the formshown in solid lines in Fig. 3, the end adjacent openings 15 issubjected to a swaging operation wherein tapered portion 12 is provided,the point thereof lying generally in the axis of straight portion 11,the resultant needle being depicted in dotted lines in Fig. 3.

The swaging operation is depicted in Fig. 3, where a swaging die isdenoted 16. Swaging is a form of rotary reducing and, in essence,consists of uniformly hammering from a number of lateral directions themetal to be worked. The lateral direction of the applied forcedistinguishes this operation from staking, wherein the force is appliedlongitudinally of the member. Staking, for example, may be employed insecuring hub 13 to tubular member 11, resulting in tapered portiondenoted 13a in Fig. 1. Swaging is generally performed through the use ofat least two rotating dies which have complementary faces. These diesare forced together at various angular positions to effect shaping ofthe stationary member inserted thereinbetween. This shaping in thepresent invention results in a portion characterized by a uniformlydecreasing cross-section terminating in a point lying in the axis oftubular member 11.

By swaging the end portion of tubular portion 11, I achieve in one stepan end that is superior to the ends of conventional hypodermic needlesthat required a number of operations to achieve. Conventionally,'aneedle is cut, ground, buffed and the like in order to achieve sharpcutting edges. Many times conventional needles also have depressedportions in the vicinity of the heel of the elliptical opening in anattempt to minimize coring. Thus, the manufacture of such needles is aninvolved process.

The advantages of my hypodermic needle can be appreciated from a studyof Fig. 5, wherein the needle is shown inserted into a vein 17. Openings15 are so related with respect to the walls of the vein that it isimpossible to block off the flow of fluid as frequently occurs inconventional bevel cut hypodermic needles. When such a situation arises,the nurse or doctor in attendance has to readjust the position of thehypodermic needle, which often causes pain or discomfort to the patient.

I prefer to provide oppositely disposed openings 15 in the taperedportion of the needle, as shown in Fig. 4. However, any angulardisposition of openings 15 permits the achievement of a needle that issubstantially non-blockable in the environment shown in Fig. 5.

The foregoing detailed description has been given for clearness ofunderstanding only, and no unnecessary limitations are to be inferredtherefrom.

I claim:

1. A hypodermic needle comprising a metal tubular portion and a taperedend portionfan adapter-receiving hub on the other end of said tubularportion integral with said tubular-portion, said 'taper'edfport'ionbeing provided with at least two angularly opposed openingscommunicating with the bore of said tubular portion, the angulardisposition of said openings being such that when said needle isinserted into a vein and one of said openings is blocked by the innerwallof said vein; the other of said openings is unobstructed by saidvein wall.

' 2. The structure of claim 1, in which said'lopenings are containedWithin only the said tapered portion.

'3. A hypodermic needle comprising a cylindrical metal tube having apointed end achieved by swaging, at least Wall of said tube adjacent thepointed end thereof, said pointed end being swaged a distance sufiicientto include said openings.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS648,858 Dolge May 1, 1900 1,951,654 Green Mar. 20, 1934 1,957,235Simpson May 1, 1934 2,073,069 Lee Mar. 9, 1937 2,112,629 Lloyd Mar. 29,1938 2,746,455 Abel May 22, 1956 FOREIGN PATENTS 818,246 Germany Oct.22, 1951

